There are also other past instances when several migrant workers of the State who were pushed into Bangladesh were repatriated following the intervention of local authorities. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Calcutta High Court on Friday (September 26, 2025) directed repatriation of six people from two families hailing from West Bengal’s Birbhum, who were pushed into Bangladesh.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobrata Mitra gave this direction while deciding two writ petitions filed by Bhodu Sheikh and Amir Khan.

Bhodu Sheikh sought repatriation of his daughter Sunali Khatun Sheikh, his son-in-law Danish Sheikh and minor grandson, while Amir Khan sought repatriation of his sister Sweety Bibi and her sons Kurban Sheikh and Imam Dewan.

In both cases, the court noted procedural violations of the memo by the Ministry of Home Affairs dated May 2, 2025.

The Division Bench did not conclusively decide citizenship but emphasised that due process was ignored.

In both the petitions, the High Court order noted that the process and procedure adopted in the deportation raise a suspicion that the “concerned authorities while acting in hot haste “have clearly violated provisions of the MHA memo dated May 2, 2025.

‘Procedure not followed’

While the court noted that Aadhaar card, PAN card and Voter ID card were no proof of citizenship, it pointed out that the memo of 02.05.2025 “applies only to Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar; thus, if we take the worst-case scenario of the detainees, that they were not Indian citizens, the steps and procedures laid down in the memo ought to have been followed by the concerned authorities”.

“Not following such procedure and acting in hot haste to deport them is a clear violation which renders the deportation order bad in law and liable to be set aside,” the Bench noted.

Ms. Sunali Khatun and Ms. Sweety Bibi, both residents of Birbhum in West Bengal, were working in Delhi and were detained with their families and pushed into Bangladesh in June this year. According to the reports after deportation, the families were lodged in prisons of Bangladesh.

Reacting to the order, Bhodu Sheikh thanked the High Court and said that without the support of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board Chairperson Samirul Islam, he could not have managed the return of his daughter.

The father also criticised the Delhi Police and said that without investigating the whereabouts of his daughter, who is a resident of Birbhum, they pushed her into Bangladesh. Some reports had pointed out that after deportation, the migrant workers were lodged in prisons of Bangladesh.

Mr. Islam, who is also a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, described the order as a victory of the truth. “The Bench found their claim false and declared the FRRO Delhi’s detention/deportation order illegal, ordering that the family be brought back to India within four weeks… This is not just my victory; it is Bengal’s victory — a rebuke to the BJP’s anti-Bengali, anti-poor policy,” he said.

Not the first time

This is not the first time that migrant workers from West Bengal pushed into Bangladesh have been repatriated. Earlier, on August 14, Amir Sheikh, a 19-year-old migrant worker from Kaliachak in West Bengal’s Malda district who was allegedly detained from Rajasthan in May and “pushed back” into Bangladesh, was reunited with his family. The family of Amir Sheikh had also approached the Calcutta High Court.

There are also other past instances when several migrant workers of the State who were pushed into Bangladesh were repatriated following the intervention of local authorities.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also raised the issue of deportation of Ms. Sunali Bibi. Mr. Banerjee, while referring to the High Court order, said that Home Minister Amit Shah should tender apology.

Over the past few months hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrant workers have faced alleged detention and harassment in different States and were asked to produce documents to prove they are not Bangladeshi nationals. Some migrant workers from West Bengal have claimed that they were “pushed into” the neighbouring country.

Published – September 26, 2025 09:57 pm IST